Obama and Bush remained in Washington for Saturday's memorial service for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who requested that each of them to speak.
Bill Clinton's Aretha Franklin tribute
Clinton's presence at the funeral is no surprise: His relationship with Franklin stretches back to at least 1993 when she performed at his first inauguration. In May 1999, Franklin performed for Clinton at the White House Correspondents Association's annual dinner, and later that year, the president awarded her with the National Medal of Arts and Humanities during a White House ceremony.
“She lived with courage," said the 42nd president. "Not without fear, but overcoming her fears. She lived with faith. Not without failure, but overcoming her failures. She lived with power. Not without weakness, but overcoming her weaknesses. I just loved her.”
Clinton recalls seeing Aretha last year at Elton John AIDS fund-raiser, where she performed for 45 minutes, despite looking gaunt from pancreatic cancer: “She stood right up and said, ‘How you doing, baby?’ I said, ‘I’m doing better now.’ She said: ‘Look at me. I got thin again.’ “
The former president also asked the audience to forgive him, saying he was happy that Franklin’s casket was still open when he arrived because he just had to see what she was wearing.
Clinton said, “I wonder what my friend has got on today. I wanted to see what the girl was carrying out,” to a wave of laughs and claps from the crowd. Franklin was wearing a gold gown, her fourth outfit of the week.
He ended his time by playing Franklin’s “Think” on his iPhone into the mic. “It’s the key to freedom!” Clinton said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/08/31/aretha-franklin-funeral-read-tributes-obama-bush-clinton/1158185002/
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